Under the Shade of Crimson Clouds
by Endoh
Summary: "I wonder, ototou, will your hatred be enough if I take away your flower?” Main: ItaSaku Side: SasuSaku —NC17 DARKfic GRAPHIC Content—
1. Prologue I ::Rewrite::

**REWRITE: I****'m rewriting the first chapters of this story because they needed improvement. Sorry if it comes as an inconvenience to you, my wonderful readers, but I can't go on with the story until it's fixed. The process shouldn't take me too long, but I just can't stand to look at my story the way it was. :( Sorry, again!**

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**"**I wonder, _ototou_, will your hatred be enough if I take away your flower?"

Beta(s): Looking for a someone to beta this fic; application information is available on my profile.

Itachi x Sakura

Sasuke x Sakura

Itachi x Sakura x Sasuke (a touch of a love triangle type of thing...).

Rating: NC17 (Dark themes (possibly some _extremely _dark themes…), violence, explicit/graphic sexual content -NC17-)

The dark story of the twisted fate Sakura fell into when she followed her love unknowingly to Itachi and the tornado that is Akatsuki, this fic contains dark, graphic, disturbing content. Not recommended for those of you wanting to read a fluff-fic. If you can see and respect the beauty of a crushed soul, blood, gore, graphic sex, the dark metamorphosis of an innocent bud into a tainted blossom, and tragic death, then you would most likely enjoy this story. Also, if you like a story with real literary techniques, you've found one.

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_This story shall be told from both Sakura's point of view (first person) and a limited omniscient point of view (third person)._

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Jukebox (suggested song to listen to while reading; listening adds so much to the story, I think…): "Wind" by _Toshiro Masuda_(links available on my profile)

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_Under the Shade of Crimson Clouds_

Part I:

Thunder

雷

Prologue I

序幕

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Sakura…the beautiful, warm, innocent bud.

...Untouched, gentle, and lovely.

Sasuke…the beautiful, cold, marred avenger.

...Scarred, calloused, and lovely.

_Somehow_ they had come together—two complete and total opposites found comfort in one another.

Sakura had been walking by the secluded training grounds, and by a grace of some higher being, she found him. She caught him in a weak moment, a time after he lost to Gaara of Suna and the beast within him, a moment close to his deceased mother's birthday. She told him she cared; she told him she wanted to help him; she told him he didn't have to be alone, that she'd _never _allow it again.

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_She stood a few feet away from him, her petite frame trembling softly in the sunshine of the day._

"_Sasuke-kun…you told me the day we became Genins… You told me that solitude is painful! I-I see your pain so well, Sasuke-kun." Sakura's short, rose hair blocked her eyes from him as she hung her head low; for reasons unbeknownst to her, she felt weighted. "I-I…" she whispered, "I know…the pain of loneliness so well… I-I know I still have a family a-and friends…but…!" She flung her head up to meet his dark, stoic, scrutinizing glance. Her bright eyes were sparkling with tears to be; his revealed nothing. "But…seeing you like _this_!" She gestured towards him. "It-it breaks my heart, Sasuke-kun! Y-you mean _everything_ to me, Sasuke-kun_—everything_!" _I will not cry_, she told herself. _He will not respect me if I weep for him; he, of all people, knows shedding tears will do nothing to end or even lessen the pain_, she told herself. "I don't want… I don't want you to be so alone anymore, Sasuke-kun…" _

_She reached a hand out tentatively to his shoulder, fully expecting an adverse reaction, but he did not swat her away or shrink back; he just stood there and allowed her featherlike touch, staring stolidly at her pretty face, questioning her with his silence. _

"_Y-you don't have to be alone, Sasuke-kun…" she spoke soothingly, but she was careful not to patronize him. "I…I'm going to be there for you—_always_. I'll _always_ be there for you..." She carefully stepped in closer, close enough to inhale his succulent, masculine scent, to see the perfection of his pale skin, to watch the gentle wind play with his silken, obsidian locks._

I love you so much…so very much, Sasuke-kun, _she thought_, but I don't know if I can tell you that; I don't yet have the strength. _She gingerly traced her fingers over his shoulder. He didn't flinch under her soft, milky fingers, so she moved ever nearer with the caution of a rabbit. _The Curse_, she thought as her eyes roamed over his long neck, _the Curse mark! Damn Orochimaru; damn the bastard!_ she screamed inside her head. _Damn him for what he has done to Sasuke-kun!

_The malicious black insignia was the only blemish on his flawless body, the only visible entity, manifestation of his suffering! It was the proof that he was in excruciating, unending torture._

_She gazed into his stygian-black eyes, and she could see the pain, the agony, the perpetual ache; she couldn't take it. The torture hidden behind his strong, hating eyes tore at her heartstrings, but what really destroyed her was the smallest flicker of life she saw in the deep depths of shadow; she knew it was only for revenge. Vengeance was the cause of the small, life force within him! Only the thought of tantalizing retribution fueled his existence!_

_She quickly flung her arms around his neck and pressed her lithe body to his, despite a shriek of warning she heard in the back of her head. "Sasuke-kun…I'll be there. I won't let you be alone anymore… I _promise _you," she murmured in his ear. And then he did something that caused her to think she was dreaming rather than living: Sakura felt a hesitant hand land on her small hip and heard words that dried her tears in an instant._

"_Sakura……_

…_thank you…"_

-

They had a peculiar relationship.

Sasuke didn't shower Sakura with love and affection—he would never be able to. But he allowed her to be near him; he was even a little tender towards her. He would permit her to make meals for him, to eat with him, to sit with him, to comfort him…from a distance. When she knocked at his door, he didn't refuse her entry; he didn't utter a word. He just let her into his life and tolerated her undying love and devotion, which, surprisingly, wasn't so intolerable. And if the stars shone when Sakura decided to leave, he would even walk her home—in an almost begrudging silence, though.

Sakura was always extremely cautious around him, conscious of her ever action so as not to appear like she pitied him. She would sit quietly in his presence and smile warmly at him over a cup of steaming tea and occasionally try to spark a conversation, but rarely did she succeed. On those rare, sacrosanct occasions, he slowly, carefully, _quietly_ allowed her a glimpse inside, a swift look into himself. Those extraordinary moments she treasured the most.

That was how it went with them, but it was comfortable and agreeable. Sakura adored every second of it, and Sasuke even wore a placid expression when he was with her.

She had never been so blissful.

And he had not felt so little pain in years; she was actually_ alleviating_ some of it.

Of course they didn't spend every, waking moment together, but Sakura made sure to visit him regularly when they weren't on missions, and when she did, she was sure to bring him a small, home baked something, a taste of what his old life contained, of what their life _together_ could contain. And the next time she would come by, it would be gone. Little things like that made her eyes glitter dangerously; he was _accepting_ her.

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It helped him—_she_ helped him. Really, she did.

Being with the damask beauty allowed his mind to linger somewhat on the pleasant things in life, and it even began to infernally slowly assuage the steely barricade he had constructed about his heart, the stone casket he had encased himself in. She had become as important to him as Naruto, possibly even more than the blonde, loudmouthed boy.

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Things were going so well for them—too well.

Sakura awoke one morning to find a small, pastel cherry blossom on her chest.

It was from Sasuke.

But she knew he would never admit to it. She smiled so happily and for so long that her cheeks began to hurt, yet she smiled on.

It touched her; it surprised her; it was significant. He _cared_. Even if he didn't show it through words or visible actions, he showed it through tiny, little things he would leave for her; it was Sasuke's way, her love's way. He hadn't felt attached to people in so long that he had forgotten how to normally bestow warmth on others, so he did what he could. To Sakura, it didn't matter how he expressed his…well, whatever it was he held for her. All that mattered to her was that he _cared_.

Not a single negative thought entered her as she went through her day. All she could focus on was the soft, sweet flower resting behind her ear.

_If only she knew what was in store for her in the next few seconds…_

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(NOTE: The first Japanese character at the top translates to Thunder, and the second translates to Prologue.)

I began this fic after getting pushed down the stairs and receiving a couple broken bones, so I'm rewriting _Under the Shade of Crimson Clouds_ because I think you deserve more than what I hastily typed with a broken wrist when I was deathly bored and trying to distract myself from other things.

:( Sorry, again, about all of this!

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**Aside from that… I hope you'll take the time to review. I adore feedback! Complain, criticize, praise, et cetera!  
**

**XOXO**

**Endoh**


	2. Prologue II

**"**I wonder, _ototou_, will your hatred be enough if I take away your flower?"

Beta(s): Looking for someone to beta this fic; application information is available on my profile.

Itachi x Sakura

Sasuke x Sakura

Itachi x Sakura x Sasuke (a touch of a love triangle type of thing...).

Rating: NC17 (Dark themes (possibly some _extremely _dark themes…), violence, explicit/graphic sexual content -NC17-)

The dark story of the twisted fate Sakura fell into when she followed her love unknowingly to Itachi and the tornado that is Akatsuki, this fic contains dark, graphic, disturbing content. Not recommended for those of you wanting to read a fluff-fic. If you can see and _respect_ the beauty of a crushed soul, blood, gore, graphic sex, the dark metamorphosis of an innocent bud into a tainted blossom, and tragic death, then you would most likely enjoy this story. Also, if you like a story with real literary techniques, you've found one.

**Jan/19/09: **Thank you to **Juniper11 **for pointing out the strange and glitchy error in this chapter.

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_This story shall be told from both Sakura's point of view (first person) and a limited omniscient point of view (third person)._

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Jukebox: "I Will Follow You into the Dark" by _Death Cab for Cutie _(AMAZING song!)

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_Under the Shade of Crimson Clouds_

Part I:

Thunder

雷

Prologue II

序幕

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"Sakura, honey, can you take these to the Yamanaka's?" Sakura's mother gestured to a small bundle of sweets on the kitchen counter, but her daughter didn't notice.

Sakura was gazing dreamily out the window, twirling the small stem of the damask blossom Sasuke had bestowed upon her. Visions of cherry blossoms falling from the trees on their wedding waltzed and cavorted through her pink, blissful head… She sighed contentedly; there was no way for her day to get any better.

Her mother let out a light, understanding laugh and then snapped, "Sakura! Pay attention! I need you to take this over to the Yamanaka's." She plopped the colorful package in her daughter's lap as she ran to the door, obviously in a hurry to get some sort of work done. "Goodbye, sweetie. I'll see you at dinner!" She flung her pale hand up in farewell and dashed out.

What would Sakura's mother have said differently if she knew she wouldn't see her daughter again for years?

The girl slowly rose from her chair, a silly smile across her beautiful, naïve face. Sakura hadn't heard a single word her mother had said, for her mind was echoing, _Sasuke-kun gave me a flower. Sasuke-kun gave me a flower. _Sasuke-kun _gave _me _a _flower_!_ She was too love-struck and giddy to pay attention to less important things, like delivering something to Ino-pig! Not when the proof that Sasuke _cared _was literally in her hands!

A thunderous **fwap** shattered her jaded state.

_What in the world?!_ Sakura jumped and whirled around to the entrance of her apartment. She quickly whipped it open and then beamed brightly, allowing the visitor into her home. "I-it's such a pleasant surprise to see you, Sasuke-k—"

"Where the hell is Naruto?!" he demanded lividly as he quickly entered her home and swung his head from side to side. "Damn… Not here!" he hissed. Sasuke took hold of Sakura's lithe shoulders, his intense stare gouging into her as a scalpel. He enunciated carefully, "Stay. _Here_."

For a moment, Sakura stood in a mystified awe, verdigris eyes wide from his flawless beauty. His eyes were so stunning and held such an authority. _Liquid onyx… _His skin was so perfectly pale... _Like crystals…_

"Do. _Not_. Follow. Me. Do you understand, Sakura?" Sasuke ground out, his voice laden with distinct meaning and laced with an almost desperate tone.

He leaned down to her and quickly

—far, _far_ too quickly—

allowed a soft contact of their lips.

And then he sprinted away, leaving her flabbergasted in the best possible way.

"S-Sasuke…kun…kissed…me…" She distantly ran a finger across her smiling, innocently pink lips. She sighed contentedly, wondering if she was dreaming and hoping not to _ever _wake up if she was, but as soon as his inky hair disappeared behind a corner, she snapped out of her trance. _What has him so anxious? What does he want with Naruto? Why does Sasuke-kun seem so unnerved?! _"Oh my god!" Sakura gasped as the seed of dread was planted in her. _If _Sasuke_ is worried, then it must be…_bad_…_ Tiny, strangling ivy vines of her _worst _nightmares began to constrict around her heart. "Oh no… Sasuke-kun! N-Naruto! What's happening?!" Sakura, panic-stricken, leapt from her doorframe and bounded desperately after her love...

_...And towards a whirling, crimson thunderstorm…_

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The actual chapters after the prologue are much longer, and that is where the real plot comes in. The title of chapter one is "Rolling Thunder"—you'll see some action there for sure...and it's eleven pages. :D  
**

Alright! Previously, I had a little question right here: Do you want this story to be on the lighter side of things, or do you want this story to be on the darker side of things, OR do you wish for me to do both, as in alternate stories?

And... (Drum roll) ...the darker side won! Wooh! So, if you aren't looking for a dark story, sorry; I have lighter stories on my profile I would recommend. HOWEVER! I haven't given up on the 'alternate stories' spiel! As of now, I do not have time to do both, but, hopefully, I will soon. As a matter of fact… I recently typed a different version of an actual chapter for my lighter story and have come up with a title, so, yah… But I don't particularly like it as much, so we'll see, I guess.

Oh, and if you're in the mood for an EXTREMELY darkly themed fanfiction, I suggest you read my story _Damned and Damask_.

**I hope you'll take the time to review. I adore feedback! Complain, criticize, praise, et cetera!**

**XOXO**

**Endoh**


	3. Chapter 1: Rolling Thunder

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR REVIEWING! You have no idea how wonderful it is to see such nice reviews.**

**HAPPY PRESIDENT'S DAY **(and happy belated Valentine's Day…and Friday the 13th)**! **(Oh, and hell yah for getting school off!) I've got **14 **pages for you guys to read!

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**"**I wonder, _ototou_, will your hatred be enough if I take away your flower?"

Beta(s): Looking for someone to beta this fic; application information is available on my profile.

Itachi x Sakura

Sasuke x Sakura

Itachi x Sakura x Sasuke (a touch of a love triangle type of thing...).

Rating: NC17 (Dark themes (possibly some _extremely _dark themes…), violence, explicit/graphic sexual content -NC17-)

The dark story of the twisted fate Sakura fell into when she followed her love unknowingly to Itachi and the tornado that is Akatsuki, this fic contains dark, graphic, disturbing content. Not recommended for those of you wanting to read a fluff-fic. If you can see and _respect_ the beauty of a crushed soul, blood, gore, graphic sex, the dark metamorphosis of an innocent bud into a tainted blossom, and tragic death, then you would most likely enjoy this story. Also, if you like a story with real literary techniques, you've found one.

-

_This story shall be told from both Sakura's point of view (first person) and a limited omniscient point of view (third person)._

-

Jukebox: "The Truth Shall Set Me Free" by _Story of the Year_

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_Under the Shade of Crimson Clouds_

Part I:

Thunder

雷

Chapter one:

Rolling Thunder

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"_Sasuke_!" I shrieked as I flung myself out of my apartment and tore after him, nightmarish images bouncing around in my mind. _What is going on?!_

I saw his jet-black hair vanish around a corner, and I gritted my teeth while I forced all of my chakra to my feet in an attempt to match his inhuman speed and grace. I tripped and stumbled through the halls of my apartment building as the tiny, black dot that was him just kept going and going as if he was gliding across the air.

_Too far! He's too far away! Too fast! Catch up, damn it! _

I ran out of the building after him, and he left me in the dusty, bustling street nearly in tears. I balled my hands into fists and dug my fingernails into my skin until the pain of the intrusions distracted me from my fretful emotions. It was a technique Sasuke had inspired… Once I had regained some control over myself, my inner-self instructed me to run like my life depended on it, and really, it did: Sasuke was my life.

Again, I gorged my chakra canals with what I could and directed the flow to my feet; I sprinted furiously through the crowded street in the direction he had been running, narrowly avoiding shoppers and receiving plenty of curses. I passed numerous familiar buildings as I dashed onward. I couldn't see him anywhere, and serious panic flooded my vision with water I did _not_ need at that moment; again, I tore my nails into my palms. I _had_ to find him. I _had _to help him figure out whatever his problem was!

Frantic for a way to rejoin my love, I leapt to the rooftops. I jumped from shop to shop, exuding my full speed. As I soared across one particularly tall structure, I finally got a glimpse of his sable hair entering Ichiraku. I sped after him, begging my legs to move faster. By the time I made it to Naruto's favorite restaurant, Sasuke was already putting more space between us, far from hearing range. My breath entered my lungs in ragged rasps as I trudged on.

I ran and ran down a dirt road, chasing my tiny, black speck. I could see a small town filled with flashing lights and people looming in the distance. _Where are we going?! Why are we going to _this_ town?! _I kept after my love until—_Damn it! Where'd he go?! _I came to a skidding stop and flung my head around the crowded town; people bustled about, but there was no sign of Sasuke. I felt like hyperventilating. I felt like bursting into tears under the insane flashing of the city lights. I felt like collapsing to the gritty ground, but I did what I could to be strong: I forced my fingernails into my palms with even more force than before. My inner-self screamed and yelled at me to regain control, and I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment. The glistening water in them vanished, as did the desire to curl up in the fetal position and wail. My mind cleared to only one thing: Sasuke. I jumped to the roof of a casino to get a better view. _Sasuke, where are you?! Damn it, Sasuke-kun! Naruto! _I sprang from building to building, searching frantically for any clue of his whereabouts. _How many minutes have passed?! Has he already left this town?! What's happening?! _Sasuke_! Naruto!_

"_Sasu_—" I shrieked, but stopped mid-word as an earth-shattering roar that sounded like a deranged flock of birds erupted from a hotel just on the other side of the street. "…Chi…dor…i…" Every syllable of the justu sounded like a death sentence to my friends. "W-why is he using Chidori…?!" It took my body a moment to recover from all the scenes of Sasuke's death that jangled my mind, but once I did, I dove into the smoke my love's attack had produced.

I gazed at the gaping hole in the hotel's wall. _He…he _missed_ his…target…_ A small tremor racked my body. _Sasuke does _not_ miss his targets… _Another round of shakes jolted through my spine.I distantly felt warm trickles of liquid caress their way down my fingers as I bounded through the opening in the wall. What a silly, stupid girl I was—I didn't even have a kunai in my hand. But there I was, diving right into a tornado, completely unarmed and unprepared for the whirlwind.

I almost ran directly into them—**I nearly did a face plant in the long, black and incarnadine material of a murderer's cloak.**

I coughed horribly from the dust I had inhaled, my bleeding, sopping hands on my knees as I hacked up dirt, and it was the only noise I heard. I stopped immediately.

I could imagine nothing more terrifying than that pure and utter silence; it was petrifying.

I felt not only the slow settling of the dust particles, but also the most heart wrenching, bloodcurdling tension. I slowly lifted my gaze from the floor. My wide, somewhat blurred, jade eyes found a pair of startlingly scarlet ones and a pair of onyx ones amidst the dust storm. I blinked, from shock or the granular dirt, I didn't know. My stare traveled up the long, muscular bodies, my mouth hanging open. I started at four pale feet in sandals and climbed up four lengthy legs, both dressed in black. The dust fell rapidly from the air, and I could distinguish differences between the two bodies. An inky trench coat with a very high collar met my vision, as did a black shirt. As my eyes continued up the bodies, I noticed sanguine clouds adorned one. I blinked once more, and I _saw_.

_Sasuke _was on my left, _another_ on my right.

_My _Sasuke was held in the death grip of a man who shared his _everything_: his ruby eyes; his marble, unblemished skin; his dark hair; his full lips; his long eyelashes; his ferocity; his stoic, emotionless persona; his…perfection.

_Who…_is_that? He…he's so beautiful…_ I was too awestruck to think clearly, no matter how many times I blinked—the mesmerizing way those erubescent eyes of the stranger glowed! The only—_only_—flaws on his tall, lean body were two slight indents under his eyes, and I wasn't even sure if they counted as mars. They looked so lovely… And the way the soft wind tossed a few wisps of his long, radiant hair—it was so impossibly flawless. His pure…_perfection_ alone was enough to distract me from the crazed scene surrounding me; I could only gawk at him while the other males around me went unnoticed.

A small snicker finally broke my trance. I blinked and snapped my mouth to a close. I finally looked around the destroyed hallway, and I discovered the source of the snorting laughter.

"Hello, _pretty_ lady," a ridiculously tall, blue creature growled to me.

Fear. That was all I knew at that moment. I begged my body to move, but I could only force my head to twitch sideways in jagged jerks. I saw Naruto as well, his cerulean eyes wide with terror as I'm sure mine were. I jerked my head forward again to see Sasuke's eyes locked in an intense glare with the beautiful man I had never met.

"Sa-ku-ra," Sasuke gritted out, his arm that was grasped by the other man raw from the Chidori, "…**run**."

I heard his words, his desperate warning, but I couldn't; I was frozen in my place, ogling dumbly and not making a single move to help.

Not two seconds after he said that, a massive, demonic chakra filled the room, increasing my horror tenfold. I managed to fling my head in the direction of its source, and it was—_Naruto?!_ I was so confused, afraid, …and fascinated all at the same time.

"You," the taller, vermeil-eyed man spoke to Sasuke, "are in the way..." His voice was cold honey: slow; _chilling_; syrupy; _precise_; soothing; above all, _beautiful_.

And then I heard the snap, the cracking of Sasuke's bone as the older man broke his arm with a flick of his wrist. _How can a man so beautiful be so cruel?! _Subconsciously, I drove my fingernails wildly into my palms, blood spattering the ground and my tears so close to joining the incarnadine splashes. "Sasuke!" I shrieked, and I discovered my paralysis had faded with the noise of his agonized scream as he hit the wall over twenty feet away and crumpled to the floor. I made a move to go to him, but I heard the man with blue gills, effectively stopping me in my tracks.

"Little lady, you're bleeding profusely." He appeared in front of me, his matching coat blocking my view of Naruto, before his words hit my ears. I looked up to him, craning my neck back as far as I could, and saw him holding the most gargantuan sword I had ever seen. He waved the scaly rapier over me and then Naruto. It could reach so far because it was the longest, largest blade I had _ever_ laid eyes on.

"Damn it!" Naruto cursed, and I, too, felt the effects of whatever he had just done. "Sakura-chan, run for it!"

But I couldn't. I was being asked to do the impossible; I couldn't leave my Sasuke-kun.

"My Samehada devours chakra." The shark like man chuckled at my expression of pure panic as his sword began to squirm. He grinned at Naruto, and then he turned back to face the mysterious, utterly stunning man. "Should I chop off one of the boy's limbs just to make sure he won't cause us any trouble?"

_What? They're after _Naruto_? What for?!_

The painfully gorgeous man didn't move, and the fish creature took that as an okay. I tensed as I saw him raise his Samehada. "NO!" I shouted, and as soon as the word left my mouth, a gigantic toad burst through a puff of smoke in front of Naruto, deflecting the would-be devastating blow. And then an old man with bushy hair joined the frog.

It took me a moment to recover from my initial shock enough to listen to their conversation; I missed some of the words shared.

The blue thing spoke, "So you're one of the Sannin, the Great Jiraiya?"

_S-Sanin? _I thought to myself as I slowly backed towards the crumbling wall, instinctively getting away from danger but unable to leave the scene. I was so focused on making it quietly to the somewhat blackened wall, that I didn't hear much of what they said. I did manage to hear the Sannin say, "So then you really are after Naruto?"

The handsome man with the claret eyes responded, "We received orders from the leader of our organization Akatsuki to abduct Naruto-kun."

_Akatsuki? Sannin? What?_

The Sannin said, "You will not get Naruto, not while I'm around."

"And why shall we not?" The cloaked, pale man drawled easily.

"Right here, right now, I'm going to kill the both of you."

I saw Sasuke begin to rise from the floor near the beautiful man's feet, and I let out a heavy breath of relief I hadn't even known I was holding. However, as soon as I let it out, I sucked it back in, for his next words stopped my heart.

"_No_. This man… _He's_ _**mine**_!" The rage in my love's voice sent a quake through my body.

I gasped, and then quickly silenced myself. _What…?! No, Sasuke, no! Don't fight _him_!_ I hadn't even seen him fight, but I knew just by looking at the taller Sharingan user that he was a level of lethal beyond any other foe I'd ever faced.

"I have absolutely no interest in you right now," the man with the honeyed voice replied simply.

"_Shut up_!" Sasuke growled and charged. The Akatsuki effortlessly planted a foot into his chest and flung him away, sanguine liquid spewing from his mouth.

I couldn't move.

Both the old man and Naruto started.

Naruto shouted, "Sasuke!"

"Don't interfere, damn it! This battle is _mine_ to fight!" My Uchiha blew out hematic spittle with his fury as he bellowed, "I… I've _LIVED _for this for this moment! …For this day!" His ebon eyes swirled into vermillion.

The tall, black haired man glanced at Sasuke. "Very well."

The old man attempted to move, but the blue thing blocked his path. "Stay where you are. This is between them."

"_Bring it on, then_!" Sasuke yelled in a wild, demented tone I'd never heard him use. His bloodlust was hair-raising. He charged at the man in the cloak, and the moment he was in striking distance, a pale fist tipped with dark nail polish drove into Sasuke's ribs. Carmine blood flew from his mouth, and a knee flew into his neck.

I wanted to scream, 'Do something—anything! HELP HIM!' to the supposed 'Great' Jiraiya. I kept silent, for my voice was lost in an abyss of fear.

The cloud covered man kicked Sasuke back into the wall, and his limp body hit the floor with a thud. The towering, terrifying man dragged Sasuke up the wall and dug his violet nails into the giving skin of his neck. "You are weak." He leaned in closer. "Why are you weak?" Even closer. "Because, Sasuke, …you lack…_hatred_."

I didn't notice it, but my wrists were numb from the strain I was putting on them, and I had shredded my palms. My damned, ridiculous tears began to blur my vision from the physical and psychological agony! Sasuke was being attacked brutally, and _he_ wasn't crying! _Stop it, stop these tears! _I hurriedly batted the tears away just in time to hear my love's screams become louder and more painful than I had ever imagined they could be. For a moment, I swore the eyes of the man torturing my Sasuke had spun differently or something, but I couldn't tell from my perspective.

Little did I know, the spin of those bloody Mangekyou eyes was the start of my own crimson tsunami.

"_**Raaaaaaaaraaagh**_!" Sasuke's screams echoed through the halls, as if taunting me again and again and again.

_Why isn't he helping?! What is that old man doing?! _I shot a pleading glance at the toad man, but he was watching the bloody beating of my love… It didn't make sense! The cloaked man with the long hair was only looking at Sasuke! _How is he causing him so much pain just by look—_Sharingan_. _It hit me, but I didn't understand the Sharingan, but I knew it was powerful. I didn't understand any of what was going on! _Akatsuki? Sannin? Naruto? Sasuke? Who are these people, and why are they torturing Sasuke?! _My panic rose to an unheard of level.

The fish-man spoke with a smirk, "Cruel as usual. Using Tsukuyomi on his little brother… Itachi, you shouldn't use your eyes so many times in one day." He snorted gleefully.

_Br...brother? _His words hadn't yet sunk into my frazzled, fried psyche. _This man is Sasuke's older brother…? _Uchiha_…Itachi…? _That was the first time I heard his name. _Tsukuyomi…?_ I was bewildered out of my mind as Sasuke's screams continued. _What do I do?! What do I do?!_

"Stop it, bastard!" Naruto yelled and took off in the direction of the Uchihas, and I did the same; Naruto's voice broke me out of my daze enough to realize that whimpering on the sidelines wasn't doing any good.

Sasuke's cries finally ended, and I barely heard the older Uchiha say to him before his stygian eyes closed into unconsciousness,

"**I wonder, _ototou_, will your hatred be enough if I take away your flower?**"

That sentence stopped me in my tracks even though I heard the monstrous footsteps of the gigantic, blue man behind me. _…Me…? How does he know about me…?_

My thoughts were disrupted, for I heard Itachi's deep, silken voice say, "Kisame, …take her."

As soon as those words were out, I didn't have time to feel fright, for I was in the scaly arms of a fish that was being swallowed by a frog's stomach.

…And sucked into an erubescent vortex of loathing, revenge, bloodlust, and contempt.

_

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And so concludes chapter three of USCC! Huzzah! There are all sorts of things hidden in my stories, so keep your eyes open. Seriously. I'm very specific for damn good reasons. _:P

_I'm hoping it seemed realistic with Sakura just kinda watching from the sidelines and Itachi wanting to take her 'cause he saw how much Sasuke cared about her while Mangekyou-ing the fuck out of his younger brother's mind. Ya know, to increase his hate? Eh. I hope it works for you guys!_

Oh, oh, oh! And Endoh has a DeviantArt! There's a link on my profile if you want to see any of my stuff or add me or whatever. :D And don't forget to check out my other stories: _Damned and Damask _(a DARK SasuSaku), "He Was the Moon" (another DARK SasuSaku), "A Night's Desires" (a mildly dark ItaSaku), et cetera. Most are rated M, except for one I'm working on now, which involves a great deal of planning because of the plot...

_It makes a writer so happy to receive praise or constructive criticism on her work, _**so I hope you'll take the time to review. I adore feedback! Complain, criticize, praise, et cetera!**_ I've realized, too, that I seem to be more inclined to work on my stories that receive more reviews… What a coincidence, right? :P_

**XOXO**

**Endoh!**


	4. Chapter 2: Cloud Cover

**Alright, so FF is being really glitchy with me. I found a simple error in this chapter, and once I fixed it, it turned into html mumbo-jumbo. I kept trying to replace the damn chapter, but it kept getting the same weird html nonsense, so I ended up just having to re-upload this chapter. Sorry for the inconvenience. :/**

**Oh! I edited it some more, too. :D**

**-**

**"**I wonder, _ototou_, will your hatred be enough if I take away your flower?"

Beta(s): Looking for someone to beta this fic; application information is available on my profile.

Itachi x Sakura

Sasuke x Sakura

Itachi x Sakura x Sasuke (a touch of a love triangle type of thing...).

Rating: NC17 (Dark themes (possibly some _extremely _dark themes…), violence, explicit/graphic sexual content -NC17-)

The dark story of the twisted fate Sakura fell into when she followed her love unknowingly to Itachi and the tornado that is Akatsuki, this fic contains dark, graphic, disturbing content. Not recommended for those of you wanting to read a fluff-fic. If you can see and _respect_ the beauty of a crushed soul, blood, gore, graphic sex, the dark metamorphosis of an innocent bud into a tainted blossom, and tragic death, then you would most likely enjoy this story. Also, if you like a story with real literary techniques, you've found one.

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Jukebox: "Soul Creation" by _Cinder

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_

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_Under the Shade of Crimson Clouds_

Part I:

Thunder

雷

Chapter Two:

Cloud Cover: The First of the Shadows

-

"You'll be coming with us, girlie," the gilled man purred, and then he proceeded to jab a blue finger in a crevice of my neck; my head promptly slumped over. I was still slightly aware, just enough to hear a few words said by people I was sure I would never see again.

"Sakura-chan!"

"Don't worry, Naruto. Nobody has ever gotten through this technique."

"We're not going to make it at this rate…"

Slash. Slash.

"Hn…"

Sizzle. Whoosh.

"Heh…"

And the heat of sunlight pelted down upon me. Something cold poked my neck _again_, and the next thing I knew, I was in a place that wasn't Konoha.

-

It was dark, very, _very_ dark. I felt scratchy material around me, sheets, I realized. I was on a futon in a dark room with no lights, but I slowly grew accustomed to the darkness, as I would have to do again, and again, and _again_. I grew accustomed to the darkness of _Akatsuki_, and I could see. The walls of the room appeared to be concrete. I saw a large door about five meters in front of me, fragments of light shifting and barely shining through from underneath it. The shards of light moved in such a way as to cause me to think people were walking just outside it.

_People! _

The thought scared me, for my previous memories flooded my mind in great, ridiculous waves. I was scared, so _damn_ scared. My breathing quickened and became shallow. My eyes widened in panic. My fingers shook as they took hold of the rough sheets around me, habitually trying to distract myself from fear with pain. I was a captive—it finally began to sink it. I was being held in a dark concrete room against my will, surrounded by dangerous, dangerous men.

_Sasuke and Naruto! _

I couldn't remember! I didn't know what had happened to them. I had not the slightest idea if they were even _alive_. I felt water well up in my eyes. What would I do if Sasuke was hurt? "Oh, god…Sasuke!" I murmured and buried my face in my hands. I heard his howl of agony as his wrist snapped. I saw blood spurting from his mouth as his brother drove a knee into his neck. I saw his bloodied, unconscious—_or dead!_—face as he slumped to the floor. I saw my life fracturing, shattering, imploding before my eyes.

"Sasuke!"

I bit my lip; I clenched my hands so tightly I couldn't feel them anymore. Yet I still cried. If only I could numb the rest of myself like my hands.

Damn it." Tears flooded my face. _Why am I so weak?! If I was strong, then all of this would never have happened!_

"Don't cry, beautiful."

I flung my head up with a gasp. _Who was that? _"W-what?"

A shady figure emerged from the darkest of the shadows. "Surely you don't think we'd leave you unguarded!" It was the fish-man, the shark-thing, and it was stalking towards me. "I suppose I could just stand outside listening...but this is just more entertaining!"

"Get-get away from me! Get away!" I screamed as loudly as I could, pretending I could be fierce. It was a pathetic ruse, if it could even be considered one. I backed up as closely as I could to the wall and flung the covers over my face. Where was the ninja in me? Was I a kunoichi, or was I a three-year-old afraid of the monsters in the dark? It didn't matter, for I heard the door open.

"Kisame," sounded the honeyed voice I realized belonged to the man who may have _killed _my love, "enough."

"Heheh. But I liked watching her sleep!" he protested enthusiastically. "She…she's so _cute _and _pink_."

If I had any hope for life at that moment, it was gone after he spoke that sentence. I was _cute _and _pink _and totally vulnerable, and he was a predator, quite obviously.

"She's here for a reason, Kisame, and we need her alive." Itachi's voice did not match his actions. How could a voice so sweet, so saccharine, so much like silk belong to a man capable of hurting his own brother so badly!? I hated him. I loathed him. I detested him for what I saw him do to my friends. Yet I couldn't deny his unreal beauty: the murkiness of his shielded eyes; the natural flush of his full lips; the impeccable color of his unmarred skin; the perpetual grace in which he held himself; the long locks of his jet hair and the way they gently dusted his white forehead; the way he was so wrong yet so damn perfect.

His perfection would be my downfall.

"A-and what reason would that be?" I glared at him, though I was blinded by the light of the outside. I could barely make out at least one more cloud cloak standing in the hall.

"To bring the blonde boy to us when we decide it's time," the fish replied as if it was as obvious as night and day.

I mentally sighed. Naruto was alive, but what about Sasuke?! "What about Sasuke? You said…" I paused as I tried to recall just what had been said that related my situation to him, furrowing my brow and rubbing my forehead. "…You asked him if his hatred would be enough if you took me away! Why did you say he needed more hatred?! Wha-what did you do to him?!" I was terrified to speak what I was about to say, but I needed to know. "Did you…kill him?"

Itachi's eyes hadn't traveled my way since he entered, and that didn't change even as I questioned him.

"Stupid girl," the blue man spoke and gave me an incredulous glance. "If he has hatred to be increased, he's obviously alive."

I exhaled a long breath at his words. Even if my hopes for life were nonexistent—Itachi's logic was no comfort to me—I could at least know my teammates were alive.

_What do I do now? _I began to think logically again. _How long have I been here? Damn, since there are no windows, I don't have any clues as to where I am… The climate is warm, and it's not too humid… So I'm not in a very tropical area, but I'm not in a tundra, either. That narrows it down_, I thought sarcastically, for some reason forgetting my company. I noticed the cloaked men turned to exit my cell. "Wait!"

They stopped and glanced at me, politely waiting to hear why I had interrupted them.

I didn't know why I had interjected. What was it I had to say? "H-how long have I been here? How long will you hold me captive?"

"Long enough," the fish muttered to me. Apparently, that was supposed to answer both of my questions. It didn't. "Don't worry too much, beautiful," he said as he passed through the doorway. "You'll get lunch in a few hours…" And they were gone, slamming the door with a deafening crash.

I was helpless, _again_, and this time, Sasuke and Naruto wouldn't be able to save me. These men—my captors—they were more dangerous than I had believed possible, and _more _of them were in this place. I could sense many different and massive chakras around me. What did they want Naruto for? Why did they want Sasuke's hatred to increase? None of it made any sense at all! Why did _I _have anything to do with it? And then I realized what they had been saying all along:

I was _bait_.

I was nothing more than a hostage to lure my love and friend into their grasp. It didn't matter _why_ these men wanted them; the Akatsuki just did, and I would bring my comrades to their doom. How long would it be before it worked? How long would it be before their love for me brought them to their deaths? I could only hope they were smart enough to just forget me.

_Forget me, forget all about me. Forget I ever existed! Don't come for me. Don't kill yourselves for _me_!_

The sobs consumed me. I was hysterical; I was sure I'd drive myself insane within the hour. The convulsions of my shoulders consumed me, the concrete walls closing in around me. I didn't know if it was night or day; I had no sense of time, no sense of location. I had no control, none at all. It was like being submerged in pitch-black water, not knowing which way to swim, which way would have air and which way would end in certain death! I was drowning. It was intolerable. I had felt this sort of terror in the presence of only one, menacing man before: Orochimaru. It was the kind of panic that could only be induced by ones worst fear; mine was losing Sasuke, and these men were after him.

I don't know how long I wept. I didn't realize my stomach was empty, and I felt no hunger. I just knew the only source of light, the door, eventually swung open. A man with long, blonde hair held up in a ponytail entered.

"Food, yah," he grumbled unenthusiastically. I could tell he was as glad to see me as I was to see him—yet _another_ dangerous man Sasuke and Naruto would have to face, were they to come after me. He plopped a tray of food on the edge of the futon. I didn't look up. I did nothing. "Eat, yah."

"By eating, I'd be serving my purpose here, and I won't help you hurt them," I murmured, a sudden realization consuming me. It was such a simple solution!

"I could care less, yah. I just have to make sure you don't try to escape with your eating utensils." He laughed as he leaned against the far wall and crossed his arms casually, and I thought it was preposterous, too. How the hell would I escape? Chopstick them all to death after picking the lock? Not that I had ventured close enough to it to examine the door. I hadn't left the cot. And besides, escape was not what I had in mind; I knew I hadn't a chance of getting past all the cloaked men. What I had in mind didn't involve chopsticks. It was apparent he didn't think I was capable of anything besides a pathetic attempt at escape; he obviously never loved anyone the way I loved Sasuke.

"Who are you?" My tone was dull; my posture was slouched; I was too busy pondering, wondering how I could kill myself with the items on the tray. _Could he stop me from slitting my throat with a slice of broken glass if I cracked the cup? Would cutting my wrist work better?_ Both of those were obviously faster and less painful than starving myself to death. _Sasuke and Naruto might make a move to save me before I die of dehydration or starvation._ I needed to die, and I needed to die fast. It seemed so uncomplicated, so oddly easy. I would end my life to save theirs. It was obvious to me, and I didn't question it, didn't care about what I was about to do if it would only save Sasuke and Naruto.

I was a naïve little girl who didn't realize just how unsound her logic was.

"Deidara, yah."

"What is this organization?" I knew the answer, but for some reason, I craved conformation.

"We are Akatsuki."

"What does Akatsuki want with Sasuke and Naruto?" I would have to be quick, I realized. This man was powerful, and he could probably stop me in an instant, but I _had _to try. I wanted only to end my life, so the Akatsuki would have no leverage, have nothing to hold over Sasuke and Naruto. Perhaps it would save them. No. It _had _to save them.

"Enough questions, yah. Eat the damn rice."

With a dainty swipe of my hand, I knocked the tray over and snatched up the glass cup, shattering the ceramic dish and sending grains of rice flying.

I felt a flare of rage erupt from him I wasn't expecting, and his reaction was even better than I had planned.

"What the hell, yah?! You ruin such a beautiful work of art without a second thought? Have you no appreciation for the true bang of art?!" He knelt down and delicately cradled a shard of the painted china.

"No." I snapped the glass with a crunch of my hand. Whilst he was still caressing the ruined 'art,' I made a move to stab a rather large chunk of glass into my neck. Before I came within six inches of the thin skin of my target, he took hold of my wrist in an iron grip, his fury nearly burning my flesh.

Deidara gave me a dubious stare and seemed dumbfounded for a moment. That moment passed rather quickly. "You little _bi_—fine, _starve_, yah! Kill yourself the hard way!" And he stomped out of my prison grumbling, "No more glass or china… Only paper from now on, yah… Am I a member of the Akatsuki or a damn doctor in a psyche ward?!"

-

It went on and on like that, Kisame or Deidara coming to deliver meals—served on strictly paper—to me. I refused to eat; I refused to move; I only asked questions, not many of which gained answers. I found Deidara was very chatty. He answered the most of my inquiries and enjoyed withholding information he knew I desired most; though, he would occasionally hint towards the answer enough for me to guess while he sculpted something out of clay. I found out the Akatsuki was an organization of elite S-class criminals after _something_—he refused to tell me what. He revealed, through many riddles and mind games I willing played, there were eight of them and the Leader. I had met three, and I had no desire to meet the others.

-

Deidara let out a frustrated sigh. "Eat. The. Damn. Food. _Yah_."

"No, _yah_." As I heard my voice, I realized it sounded rather wheezy and dry. I had begun to finally feel the pain and burning thirst a while ago; it was only bearable when I thought of Sasuke, of how my sacrifice could save him, of how it _would _save him. The effort I had to exert to stop myself from groveling for food when I inhaled the wafting fumes of hot rice and soup was enormous. _For Sasuke_, I reminded myself dismally. I wasn't exactly coherent; my thoughts were a little blurred from my lack of blood sugar. I wished they would let up on their constant watch of me in order for me to find a faster way to end my life.

How flawed my logic was! Did I truly believe that my death wouldn't cause Sasuke and Naruto to want revenge and end up dying anyways?! Certainly not Sasuke; it would only increase his already magnificent rage and hunger for vengeance! Somehow, my juvenile mind missed these imperfections and went on wishing to die. I _had _to do something, even if it was ending my own life for no reason at all. There was just no way around it: if there was even a microscopic chance it could save the life of the man I loved more than anyone or anything else in the world, then I would gladly do it and never regret it.

"If you don't eat the food, Itachi won't be happy, and he'll _make_ you eat, yah. Whether you want to or not. You can only go a little while longer without drinking and eating, and he'll be down here before you die. He'll make you stay alive, even if he nearly kills you in the process." Deidara paused to chuckle. "He's a ruthless man, yah."

I ignored most of what he said; I simply didn't care. "What has he done that is so ruthless?"

"You don't know?" Deidara enjoyed exuded his superiority and making me grovel for information. Kisame, on the other hand, only enjoyed sadistically watching me waste away; I didn't care how many times he mentioned how horrible I looked, for it meant my plan was _working._

"Yes, Deidara-san, I do not know. Only you know, so please share your infinite wisdom and knowledge with me." I was smart enough to know sweet-talking Deidara was the only way to get anything out of him.

"I'll tell you only if you drink some water, yah."

With a great strain, I managed to bring the paper cup to my cracked lips and downed the contents. I gazed at him expectantly, relief washing over me for just a few seconds as my searing throat was doused.

"He killed his own clan, yah. Left only his brother alive."

I felt sick, so, _so_ sick. I needed to throw up, but there was nothing in my stomach. I finally understood why, on a rare occasion Sasuke had shared something personal with me, he told me he hated his brother. I knew he was alone; I knew his family had been killed, but he never told me _who_ had done it, and I never pushed, thankful for receiving that much. I just thought Itachi had abandoned Sasuke or something like that! I never imagined Sasuke's _brother _would have been the mass murderer responsible for the massacre. The man who had killed off the _entire _Uchiha clan singlehandedly in just one night had kidnapped me. I was going to die. There was no question (not that there had really been one to begin with). My fastest attempt at suicide had failed, and I was going to die by _his _hand, just like the Uchihas. But not before bringing my loved ones to death first. Finally, the urge to vomit forced the liquid from my stomach and on to my front. I was both elated and nearly brought to tears at the same time as the first amount of hydration my body had received in days was no longer in my system.

Deidara threw me a disgusted glare. "What the hell, yah?! That wasn't part of the deal, you suicidal idiot!"

"Deidara-san, could you escort me to a sink, please? I would like to wash myself off." Even in the midst of my anguish for Sasuke, I realized I had a prime opportunity to go exploring with Deidara, to find a quicker way to die, for there was no toilet or sink in my room, and I hadn't needed one because of my lack of eating…

He grumbled something under his breath, but he reluctantly nodded and headed to unlock and fling open the door.

I slowly edged myself off the cot, knowing I would be weak from not eating or drinking for days in an effort for suicide. I gingerly stood; I stayed upright for about two seconds before crumpling to my knees. _Starvation really takes a lot out of you_, I thought stupidly, and I was pleased to see just how quickly I was fading. _The faster I die, the better chance for Sasuke and Naruto! _I was a stupid, stupid little girl. I was honestly prepared to end my life for _nothing _just because I had it in my head that it could save Sasuke! I lifted myself up very, very slowly, not wanting to pass out. I wobbled my way out after Deidara, shielding my eyes from the light with my hand.

"If you try any more of your suicidal nonsense, I will personally see to it that you eat every damn grain of rice in the city, yah!"

Oh. A clue? I was in a city.

We continued walking, and I tried to take in everything I could. The hallways were concrete and lit with fluorescent lights that flickered on and off unnecessarily creepily. We took two left turns from where I was contained. No windows—none at all. "Is this some sort of bunker or something?" I was annoyed; I was annoyed even though I was about to end my life.

"With you around, it's become an asylum…"

I glowered at him, and we finally arrived in the bathroom of the bunker/psyche ward. I casually took an inventory. It had a toilet, a sink, and a simple _mirror_! There it was. The glass cup had failed, but if I could shatter the mirror…!

"Hurry up, yah!" Deidara leaned against the concrete wall and fumbled around for some clay, a sign he was bored and had let his guard down. Spending too much time with the artist did have its advantages.

I walked slowly to the sink and mirror, noticing he had left the door wide open. I twisted the tap, my heart pounding in my ears. I was about to do it. Deidara was off guard; he was too far away! I could do it! I _would _do it, do it for Sasuke. I shakily ladled the water onto my dress, and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My eyes were dull, and I looked like I had been punched in both of them. My hair was sticking out in every direction. My skin was deathly pale. My lips had no color. I looked like a corpse already; I found it hilariously ironic, but I continued to splash water on myself in silence. Deidara was rummaging through his pocket for something, not paying any attention to me, so I decided it was now or never. I flung my fist into the mirror, shattering my hideous, _innocent_, verdant reflection, feeling the shards impale themselves into my skin. It was beautiful feeling, the pain. It was wonderful. As the silver rain poured, I flustered to snatch up one of the dazzling slivers. I heard an angry grunt from Deidara, but his voice seemed distant to me. I finally caught one of the falling pieces of silver and wrenched my hand towards my neck, deciding that would indeed kill me the fastest. Before I could deal myself the fatal blow, I felt a frozen hand on my wrist. My attempt had been thwarted again. _Damn it, Deidara! _I shook from the anger…and the intense pain pooling in my limp left hand. My right hand shuddered as I felt the makeshift dagger I held dig into my skin. Both my hands bled out profusely, and even though my weapon clattered to the cement ground, the hand on mine didn't fall. I glanced to see dark nail polish on the tips of the pale fingers holding me. "Itachi?" I murmured breathlessly.

I felt my body being jerked away, but I swiftly fell into a jaded daze as a result of my blood loss, dehydration, and starvation. I hadn't quite passed out, but I was certainly out of it. Itachi dragged me through the winding hallways to yet another dark room. Before I could lift my eyelids to see the blurry scene before me, I was flung into the concrete wall. The air left my lungs in a jagged gasp.

"Haruno-san, your attempts at a valiant suicide are futile," Itachi spoke icily, his stygian-black eyes boring into mine.

A few trickles of warm fluid ran down my neck as I slid down the wall, feeling the gritty surface tear a few layers of my skin off.

"Get up," he ordered.

I remained on the floor, trying to recover my breath and stay awake.

"Get up."

I made no move to do so, only groaning because of the lack of skin on my shoulders and my arms. A large hand took hold of my neck, lurched me upward, and then threw me onto a metal table, effectively knocking over all the medical equipment on it. The fingers violently constricted around my collar released and moved to wrench the glass from my body. I gnawed on my lip to keep from screaming as the fragments took chunks of my flesh with them; I looked across the dimly lit room to see splashes my blood spattering the cement with every piece of mirror he removed. My vision was quickly becoming laced with black, but I was yanked from my daze as an acidic substance drenched my wounds. I let out an uncontrollable hiss of pain; it was all I could do to keep from shrieking. It was Itachi, and he was pouring some sort of disinfectant on my rather large lacerations.

"Why-why are you doing this? I won't die from the blood loss, so don't waste your time; your hostage will live to see another day," I spat viciously.

I felt an intrusion in my arm; it was the needle of an IV. Its effects were almost instantaneous: my vision cleared and I felt slightly more alert. "Damn it…" I felt his cold eyes appraising me. I shot daggers at him with mine. "I cannot let you hurt them again. I won't let you hurt Sasuke and Naruto!"

"You think killing yourself would prevent them from coming, at the very least, to recover your body? Surely are not so stupid, Haruno-san. Try to understand: ending your life will not spare theirs, so stop trying to." His melodic, ruthless voice pointed out the idiotic problems with my plan as he callously wrapped bandages around my left hand.

I shuddered inwardly as I realized how moronic and juvenile I was to convince myself I could save them. "You expect me to do _nothing _while you plot to kill off the man I love?!" It didn't make sense to me! None of this made any sense. "You want me to sit here like a lady while you're going to kill Sasuke?! You're a bastard, like Deidara said! You-you killed off your own family! You nearly killed your own brother! Why? 'To increase his hate'?! What the hell does that even mean, you bastard?!" I was hysterical; I had no idea what was flowing out of my mouth. "Sasuke is your _brother_. How could you just torture him with not even a thought?!" My mind flew to the beating he gave Sasuke. "Is this your sick, twisted idea of _fun_?" I threw an accusing finger to his face, spattering his previously unmarred skin crimson. "Do you _enjoy _this? Is this a fucking _game _to you?" I was shrieking by this point and thrashing to get out of his steely grip, grinning inwardly as my movement caused my wounds to open up again. "If you're going to take Sasuke away from me…!" I stuttered. "Without Sasuke, I'm already dead!" I screamed until my sight went temporarily black, for I was still weak. I continued on in a dire whisper as I fell back on the steel table: "I love him more than you ever could. I'll do _anything_ for him; I'll do anything to save him because that is what love is, you disgusting excuse of a man." I grimaced as a memory of a time with Sasuke flooded my mind. "Sasuke told me once how you pretended to love him, how you _pretended _to be his older brother. I understand that now. It was all part of your demented games." I ranted onwards in stillness; watching his unchanging expression only made me more furious. "What do you _want _from him? Is there anything left for you to take from your one and only little brother? You've taken your mother, your father, _yourself_, me, and all of his dreams with you." I was screaming again: "You forced him on a path of vengeance! You never gave him a chance to decide for himself what he wanted! You took away everything from him! For what, you bastard?!"

I waited this time, for I wanted to know what he would say.

His top lip tugged upward for a split second and then fell. It was so quick that I wondered if I had imagined it. Either way, it only enraged me more.

"You and I, Sakura,"—I noted how he didn't address me with my surname and dropped the honorific—"…we're both insane." His previously emotionless voice…it sounded…_different_.

It sounded like a death sentence.

I was speechless; I was petrified. Had he just put me in the same category as himself? It was the worst, most degrading thing anyone had ever said to me. I aimed a death-glare to his eyes, fully expecting to feel relief from my action, but I only felt myself scream. When I looked into his eyes, they turned into spinning, rubescent tools of destruction.

My first encounter with the Curse of the Kaleidoscope had begun.

"Would you like to see just how insane I am, how insane _you _are?" He grinned a pitiless, sanguinary grin in my direction.

And then I was falling, plummeting downwards into some hellish dimension. I longed to close my eyes, but there was some force keeping them widely agape. Down, down, down I kept falling and falling and falling, until, finally I found myself standing underneath a blood red sky and an inkblot of a sun.

"This is the world of Tsukuyomi; I control every aspect of this universe. You think you know a lot about my brother and me. I am now going to show you how little you truly know."

It was Itachi's melodious voice, but I couldn't discern its location; it was booming from every direction.

"I'm going to show you how ruthless a man I _truly_ am. For the next seventy-two hours, you shall witness my cruelty to the one you love most."

And then the ground beneath my feet morphed into liquid. I was suddenly thrust into a sanguine sea of Uchiha blood, but the waves weren't red; they were the purest of white. I opened my mouth to scream, but not a sound came out. I attempted to run from the grotesque, inverted scene, but my legs refused to move. I begged my eyelids to close, to block out my torturous view, but they remained open, and I was forced to watch as Itachi replayed the Uchiha massacre time and time and time again.

I could only shriek silently for it to stop as I saw a younger Sasuke frantically sprinting, blood-spattered, through the streets of the Uchiha district. I could only stare wide-eyed as I witnessed the pitiless murder of every single Uchiha and Sasuke's terror. I could only vainly try to move as I watched the bloodbath. I could only choke on the fumes of death while blood fell as a rain. I could do nothing as I watched Itachi torture the sanity out of my love.

Within seconds, I could feel my own sanity slipping away, deteriorating bit by bit with every bloodcurdling sob I heard from Sasuke; within a few moments of Tsukuyomi, I could feel my mind degenerating, disintegrating with every tear that slid down Sasuke's cheek. I felt Itachi prodding through my psyche, invading my most private thoughts and memories to use against me.

Again and again and _again _the events of that fateful night replayed, and Itachi's voice kept echoing the same torturous words:

"**Hate me, detest me. Run, run... Cling to life, and survive in an unsightly way**."

I couldn't handle it! I wasn't strong enough to survive seeing such a sight over and over and _over_ again! I didn't posses the mental strength to hear Itachi's evil words!

-

My torture of the Mangekyou went on for what seemed like an eternity, and then, as quickly as it began, it was over.

I immediately collapsed on the metal table, my breathing labored and my limbs unable to move.

"Should you disobey me again, I won't hesitate to let you relive this experience. I have the power to make you my mindless slave. You must choose: obey me willingly, or accept the wrath of these eyes."

And, with one last glimpse of his bloodied face, I crumpled into unconsciousness.

So was the wrath of those eyes.

* * *

Well, that was one fucking _long _chapter! Took me _forever _to revise this one 'cause it's twenty pages! Seriously, I spent waaaaay too long on this one.

Oh, and** I'm** **still debating on whether I should make Itachi totally evil (like how we were led to believe in the manga for the longest time) or partially evil (where he acts all evil, but is really good)…** Let me know what you think!! I could potentially go either way on this one! Tell me in a review or a message!

**I hope you'll take the time to review. I adore feedback! Complain, criticize, praise, et cetera!**

**XOXO**

**Endoh**


	5. Chapter 3: Drizzle and Deluge

Hola! It's been a while, right? Sorry about that. :/ Life has thrown some good and some bad distractions my way, and I have also been working on some non-fanfiction stuff of mine: a couple novels and poetry. So thank you to the people who kept reminding me about this story by reviewing and messaging and showing me fanarts! Seriously, I freaked out when I found out this story had inspired somebody to make ART! (My inner-Deidara jumped for joy. ART IS A BANG!) So please, if anybody else has unleashed their inner-Deidara because of this fic or any of my other fics, please--pretty please!--show me and I'll put a linky-link on my profile to it (unless, of course, you'd rather not show it to everyone like the aforementioned artist). Anyways, I've got another chapter for you--27 pages to make up for how long it took me to update!

Oh, and when I have Deidara say "yah"…it's just because I'm too lazy to type out "yeah"…and because I don't pronounce "yeah" like "yee-ah," which is how I read "yeah." So I type out "yah." Sorry if that's a bit irksome! ;)

-

"I wonder, _ototou_, will your hatred be enough if I take away your flower?"

Beta(s): Juniper11 (Thank you, Juniper!)

Itachi x Sakura

Sasuke x Sakura

Itachi x Sakura x Sasuke (a touch of a love triangle type of thing...).

Rating: NC17 (Dark themes (possibly some _extremely _dark themes…), violence, explicit/graphic sexual content -NC17-)

The dark story of the twisted fate Sakura fell into when she followed her love unknowingly to Itachi and the tornado that is Akatsuki, this fic contains dark, graphic, disturbing content. Not recommended for those of you wanting to read a fluff-fic. If you can see and _respect_ the beauty of a crushed soul, blood, gore, graphic sex, the dark metamorphosis of an innocent bud into a tainted blossom, and tragic death, then you would most likely enjoy this story.

-

Jukebox: "I Will Not Bow" by _Breaking Benjamin _(Love that band more than any other...)

* * *

-

_Under the Shade of Crimson Clouds_

Part I:

Thunder

雷

Chapter Three:

Drizzle and Deluge

-

_Should you disobey me again, I won't hesitate to let you relive this experience._

_I have the power to make you my mindless slave._

_You must choose: obey me willingly, or accept the wrath of these eyes._

…_or accept the wrath of these eyes…_

…_these eyes…_

…_these eyes…_

…_these eyes…_

…

My own scream shook the remnants of unconsciousness from my mind.

But the malevolent yet somehow so saccharine echo remained perfectly in place.

…_or accept the wrath of these eyes…_

…_or accept the wrath of these eyes…_

My pulse thundered with every loathsome word that ricocheted through my battered mind as I gasped to regain oxygen in my lungs.

…_or accept the wrath of these eyes…_

…_or accept the wrath of these eyes…_

I thrashed about, my hands clawing at my ears in a desperate attempt to mute the horrendous echo. I distantly felt the painful snag and pull of an IV crudely attached to the skin of my arm.

…_or accept the wrath of these eyes…_

…_or accept the wrath of these eyes…_

"_STOP IT!_" I howled. "_SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT THE HELL UP!"_

But the silken resonance strengthened and mutated into a frenzied, twisted chatter…like Chidori.

_Acceptthewrathoftheseeyes!_

_Accceptthewrathoftheseeyes!_

And then I _saw _those eyes, those lovely, demonic eyes of ruby and onyx. Another shriek escaped my mouth as those damned eyes remained unblinkingly omniscient in my psyche. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!" I flung my limbs frantically about, desperately trying to disband the voice and the vision.

A demon was possessing me.

_I wonder, _ototou_, will your hatred be enough if I take away your flower?_

…_will your hatred be enough…if I take away your flower?_

…_will your hatred be enough…?_

…_if I take away your flower…?_

"NO! DON'T TOUCH HIM! STOP THIS!"

Amidst torturous images of a not so distant time, I faintly heard a metallic rattling.

…_We're both insane._

…_Would you like to see just how insane I am, how insane _you_ are?_

…_Would you like to see…?_

…_how insane _you _are?_

…_Would you like to see…?_

"GOD DAMN IT! GET THE HELL OUT! PLEASE, STO—!"

A small stab to some piece of my flesh.

And then the voice quieted.

And then the images drifted away.

And then there was nothing.

-

"Oh, you should have seen it! She was like a fucking zombie rising from the dead! It was _priceless_."

"I knew she was a nutcase, yah. I had her figured out from the beginning."

"Pretty, …but insane."

"I could go with some of that, yah…. I'm fucking tired of babysitting!"

"Heh. Right. But dollface over here actually took it pretty well. It's only been two weeks."

"Tsk. She's a thirteen-year-old _girl_, yah. A _little girl _is just fine after a bout with the 'fearsome' Mangekyou!"

"Say what you want, Deidara, but I've seen what Itachi's eyes are capable of doing: most full-grown, _male _shinobi are usually out cold for at least a month. Hatake Kakashi, for example, was out for a good while. Heheheh..."

"Tch. I don't care, yah. I just want to know how long he plans on keeping her here. This entire organization is spending too much time on her, yah."

"It's been three weeks and nobody has come after her, so Itachi'll probably kill her within a few days, I'd say. Itachi's not one for patience with this sort of thing, especially when his little plans don't work. Haha!"

"Good. I need to get out of this hellhole and spend a night with a _grown _woman…instead of this damn _girl_."

"Heh. Never figured you went for women, Deidara."

"Kisame, shut the fuck up, yah! I've got women _lining up_ for a night with me because of what these hands can do!"

"Hahah! Sure, sure."

"I told you to shut the fuck up! And I never figured a _fish _went for _human_ women, yah!"

I heard the words spoken, but I wasn't aware of them; I was out of it, out of everything. But the indignant yell from Deidara forced me from my stupor. My weighted eyelids slowly pulled upward, revealing the painful fluorescent lighting, and I became aware of just how sedated I was, my head pounding with every breath I took.

"Sh-shut up…." I managed to mumble as I shut my blurred eyes against the unnatural brightness around me. "…Too loud…" Their voices were thunder, and the damned fluorescents were lightning.

"Hey, it's about time, doll," Kisame muttered.

Doll? _Doll_? "What?" I continued blinking my eyes, attempting to grow accustomed to the synthetic light, but Kisame's fish head appeared a few inches from my own. _That _woke me up.

"Don't scrunch your face up like that, doll. It ain't flattering." The shark creature grinned, all his serrated shark teeth showing.

I gaped at him, my mind finally processing their conversation: "When are you going to kill me?" I didn't recognize my detached voice; it was so entirely foreign to me. Sasuke and Naruto hadn't come for me; they were safe. But I had a target on my forehead. I couldn't bring myself to feel anything—not joy, not sorrow, not anything.

"Dunno, doll. Probably soon. So you might as well enjoy life while you can. And take a bath, you smell like shit. You're named after a flower, so you really shouldn't stink like shit." Kisame sniffed dramatically, apparently unfazed by his own rotten fish stench.

"Yah," Deidara agreed, snickering as he exited, "clean up a bit, _doll_."

The fish-man yelled after him: "Better not call her that around Sasori, eh, Deidara? He might get the wrong idea! Haha!"

-

Kisame led me, hobbling and wobbling, through the halls until we reached a bathroom, different from the one I had attempted suicide in. I tottered weakly behind him, taking a moment to stifle my desire to retch as I realized I was dressed in a plain black shirt with a bit of fishnet at the collar, reaching just above my knees; someone had undressed me while I was completely unconscious. And that someone had had free reign to touch whatever he wanted on my comatose body. Though I had noticed the odor emanating from me long before, at that particular moment, I felt very dirty--the filthiest I had ever felt in my life.

"Here's the bathroom. Now get in the tub and rub-a-dub-_dub_." Kisame sniggered at his perverse humor.

I slipped through the door as quickly as my feeble body allowed. Though I knew doing such a thing in this setting was completely useless, I locked the door, much to the shark's amusement; Kisame chortled.

"Don't worry, doll. I'm no peeping-Tom."

Somehow, I didn't believe him. I stood still, waiting to hear him shuffle away. He didn't. I waited longer.

"Damn prude… Fine, I'm leaving. Go ahead, kill yourself. It'll save me the effort."

I slumped against the wooden door, his words affecting me. If it didn't mean saving Sasuke and Naruto, I didn't _want _to die. I wanted to live through this; I wanted to have my old life back. I wanted_ Sasuke_! But now, everything seemed so far out of reach, out of possibility. I shook my head, and, with a vitriolic grin, I decided that, if I was going to die, I was going to die with some dignity—not 'smelling like shit.' I straightened my posture and walked over to the tub situated in the far corner, which was walled partly in glass with a sliding door. It was a simple thing and halfway broken: it was meant to function as both a shower and a bath, but the shower-head had obviously gone a little wonky. I slid open the door and stripped. It was surprisingly unsoiled, with only a few specks of mold and some soap residue. I rinsed the tub out, and when it was cleaned to my satisfaction, the water was scalding hot—exactly what I wanted. I didn't expect to find any soap around and I certainly didn't, so I just stepped in and allowed the overheated water to singe the filth away. After a good while, the heat of the bathwater had desensitized my body; my mind, however, shut down on its own, refusing to acknowledge the fact that some Akatsuki had undressed me…and the fact that I was a dead woman walking. A soft echo in my head whispered, "Can a suicide also be a mercy killing? It was so easy to do it to spare Sasuke.... But could you do it to spare yourself?" The answer was _no_. For Sasuke, I had quickly and decisively accepted suicide as the only viable course of action to save him. But to save myself from whatever tortures my impending death sentence would hold for me... I just didn't have it in me to be decisive.

I was a coward.

So the wicked reverberations continued to murmur suggestions of sweet, self-inflicted mercy....

A soft knocking at the bathroom door brought me back into reality.

"Sakura," said the voice I had so quickly grown to fear for its brutality…and perversely appreciate for its euphonic sound. "I have some toiletries for you. May I come in?"

_No_, I thought to myself, _you may _not _come in. _And just what would happen if I were to utter those words aloud? I decided that I'd rather not think about it and just go along with his cruel ruse of disguising hostility in hospitality. "Y-yes."

Itachi twisted the handle, and I then remembered that I had locked the door.

"Damn," I whispered. "_Damn_…" I said in a more audible voice: "I, uh, locked the d-door. Sorry…"

Composed, indifferent: "Not a problem." And I heard a slight noise before I heard his footsteps.

Of course a simple lock would be no problem for him.

"I'm placing a clean change of clothes on the shelf. I also brought you a bar of soap and a towel. Would you like me to bring them to you?" Itachi's voice was as impassive and detached as ever.

Mine was a bit too shrill: "Y-yes. Thank…you…" Was it possible for him to be so savage as to murder a completely defenseless, vulnerable girl while she bathed? Somehow, that didn't seem too far out of possibility: he had tortured the sanity out of a nearly defenseless, vulnerable girl just a few days ago....

I heard him cross the small bathroom; I forgot how to breathe, but my heart certainly didn't forget how to beat. It thundered against my ribcage.

"If you will slide the door open a bit, I'll hand the soap to you." He draped the towel over the shower door.

I did as he directed, and my awaiting hand visibly shook. I kept my head down and my free arm across my chest, though he really couldn't see through because the glass was fogged with steam and I had barely cracked the door open. Itachi placed the bar in my hand without so much as his fingers brushing mine. I nearly dropped it, for I was quaking in anticipation for my death and my hand was wet. I withdrew, and so did he.

"Sakura, I am putting a silencing seal on the door. We must discuss a few things."

I audibly let out a panicked noise that couldn't quite be classified as a gasp or as a yelp. My death sentence was finally being acted upon. _Goodbye, Sasuke. _Truly, how was I going to survive if Uchiha Itachi wanted me dead? I was sure he could kill me with just his mystical eyes; a man of his caliber and cruelty needn't even touch his victim.

Through the clouded glass, I saw the flash of light made by his chakra on the seal. He moved to lean on the wall, conspicuously directing his gaze away from me.

"I am sure both Kisame and Deidara have thoroughly frightened you by now, but I assure you, Sakura, I am not going to kill you, and shall not let anyone else kill you."

This was cruel; _he _was cruel. Itachi was a cruel, sadistic predator who liked to play with his prey before going in for the jugular.

I didn't respond; instead, I continued bracing for the end, holding my knees to my chest to take up as little space as possible.

"Sakura," he said my name firmly, yet soothingly. "If I was going to kill you, I would have done so weeks ago. You do not have to take my word for it, but you must accept that as fact. I have had multiple opportunities to end your life, yet I have not and will not."

It was true; he hadn't killed me when it would have made the most sense to do away with me. Was he possibly telling the truth? Could I really have a chance to see Sasuke again? I didn't want to get my hopes up, but logic was indeed on Itachi's side…. And truly, common sense was all I had left. I had always liked logical things—math, science, and all the bookwork I excelled in at the Academy—and logical thinking had always been a way to calm myself down. Somehow, Itachi seemed to know that I thrived on reason.

"I had a nurse tend to you," Itachi began once more, "and she dressed you in a change of clothing."

With that news, I did let out a tiny sigh of relief. The fish hadn't touched me with his despicable, scaly hands, just a nurse. That was okay…. Then I realized that it didn't make sense, and I suddenly remembered how to how to speak. "W-why would you do that? You didn't _need _to do that…. I… It…" I couldn't wrap my mind around it. I scrunched my brow in frustration. "It doesn't make _sense._" Dimly, I came to the conclusion that I was soaking in a bathtub with only a sheet of barely opaque glass—that would become completely transparent when the steam vanished—separating me from a murderous, beautiful man, and _that _didn't make sense. Dimly, I came to the conclusion that the man who had tortured me for days on end was standing mere inches from my entirely vulnerable and naked body, and I couldn't bring myself to hate him, not when he was like this--sounding all sincerely gentle and kind--and _that _didn't make sense either.

"Sakura," he sighed my name, "if you have any hope of living through this to see your beloved, you must do exactly as I say. Your purpose has evolved, not died."

Bingo. He immediately piqued my attention; I hung on his every word.

"The other members of this society aren't quite so lenient as I. I will not harm you again if you appear to be under my utmost control. There has been much talk of simply disposing of you. The other members of this organization have grown impatient; they see you as no more than a waste of space and resources. In order for you to survive, you must become useful to Akatsuki. Your previous use is no longer viable; you must prove your utility in a new way. Do you understand?"

"No," I said in a hushed voice. "I do not understand…." This man—the one standing before, speaking in such a polite, nearly amicable manner!—had gone from mercilessly, maniacally torturing the sanity out of me…to _this_? Was it possible that his personality was split? I just couldn't reconcile the differences between the seemingly two different entities! I just couldn't imagine such polar opposites coexisting in just one man! And the notion that he could...snap at any moment made him all the more fearsome. "I-I _am _a waste of space and resources," I said slowly and clearly, trying to give my mind time to absorb the information and grasp whatever it was I clearly wasn't understanding. "The rational thing to do… The rational thing to do with a leech is to burn it off the skin, so…why don't you? Why _haven_'t you?" I was a parasite, and I was quite certain he would have no qualms about burning me alive.

"You must stop speaking like that, Sakura. You are not a leech; your metaphor is flawed. One doesn't willingly attach a parasite to the skin." He paused and then sighed, speaking very plainly: "For reasons I cannot explain to you, you need to live. To survive in such an environment as this, you must prove your worth. So I shall train you. I see no reason for us to have anything but a symbiotic relationship. However, you must not resist me in any way, or I will be forced to control you with my eyes. If you show me no resistance, then I shall not harm you. Do you understand now?"

I had no idea what he meant, but the last thing I wanted was to anger him. "Yes…"

"Good." His voice was still placid as ever. "Whether or not you are around the others, you must always appear under my control; follow my orders, be polite, be quiet, and you will survive." I thought I heard—probably _imagined_—the slightest grimace in his voice as he spoke: "Be wary of Deidara and Kisame; show them respect, but…be wary."

That, I understood.

"Kisame will try to intimidate you, but his threats are empty. They both know better than to cross me, but that doesn't mean Deidara, in particular, won't attempt to do so."

I inhaled deeply; there was something I needed clarified before things went any further. "Itachi-sama,"—I decided to begin appearing under his control immediately—"may I ask you a question? Face-to-face, I mean?" I needed to look him in the eyes when he answered. Not his magical eyes, his _own_ eyes.

"You may," he answered.

I carefully emerged from the bathwater, secured the towel around me, and took in a deep breath. I slid open the foggy glass door and marched resolutely to him, a rather impressive feat since I was clothed only in a towel and dripping and he was _Uchiha Itachi_—the mass murderer, the missing-nin, the S-class criminal, the estranged brother to the man I loved. "Do you plan to harm Sasuke?" I held his gaze, scrutinizing any slight change in his expression.

Itachi allowed his eyelids to drop.

"…No!" I whispered in terror and staggered frantically backwards into the glass door, my breath coming out in frenzied, panicked rasps as my mind was overcome with the memory of when Uchiha Itachi had last closed his eyes before me. I clamped my eyes shut and attempted to flatten myself against the glass behind me. I thought I had been scared out of my mind the first few days I had been in the Akatsuki compound, but the fear consuming me at that moment trumped any fear I had ever known a hundredfold.

"Please, please… I'm sorry…. I-I…" The quakes racking my body rattled the glass and produced a horrific noise; I clutched at the towel in one hand and clawed, terrified, at the glass with the other.

"Sakura," said that honeyed, melodic voice. "Sakura… Open your eyes, Sakura…." That saccharine voice was imploring, and I wanted nothing more than to give in to that siren song, no matter what the consequence would be. Yet my eyelids remained sealed because of the fear.

"Please, don't…don't use your eyes on me...!" At that point, my own were watering and leaking from the mere memory. "I'll-I'll do anything you tell me—_anything_! Don't...don't make me see it all again! _Please..._" The man had only lowered his eyelids, yet he had me cowering and groveling and sobbing for mercy. I had just regained consciousness! I couldn't survive second time in that hellish Tsukuyomi world…. The mere thought of it had my breath going shallow and my head spinning; I was going to pass out.

"Sakura," Itachi said gently, seemingly closer to me than a few moments before. "You have no reason to fear me. I just told you I wouldn't harm you in any way if you obeyed me, did I not?"

"Yes," I answered in an undertone, eyelids still drawn taut against the overflowing tears, breath ragged and racing.

"Have you disobeyed me, Sakura?" He was trying to coax me into calming, softly repeating my name as if speaking to an infant, but that wasn't easily accomplished, not even for him….

"I-I…don't know."

"You haven't, so open your eyes, Sakura."

Slowly, shakily, I obeyed his command, though I glued my eyes to the floor, for he was closer than an arm's reach.

"Look at me."

Yet again, I obeyed; I was learning how to survive in this place. My watering verdant eyes fearfully met his obsidian and he effortlessly held them there with that strange and innate power he projected. And that otherworldly aura brought heat to my wet cheeks. He was so much like Sasuke…yet he was so different....

Young yet older.

Beautiful yet despicable.

Kind yet ruthless.

"You'll find I am a man of my word, Sakura. I do not intend to harm you or Sasuke. It would be easiest for both of us if you didn't fear me, so please keep my previous words in mind. We needn't resort to parasitism."

With that, he slowly withdrew, his eyes still holding mine.

"Now," he murmured, finally releasing my gaze, "we must begin making you useful." Itachi slowly moved to the door, apparently having decided my fried nerves were incapable of dealing with quick movements. He was correct in his assumption.... "I must make an appeal to Akatsuki's leader regarding you, so please finish and get dressed; I left you a clean change of clothes on the far shelf. I shall wait in the hall." And he quietly slipped out the door, the silencing seal fluttering to the tile floor and then combusting into flames.

Even without his magic eyes, he was _still_ able to control me with just that mellifluous, gentle voice of his. He had given me only his word, but I found myself believing he would bring no more harm to myself or to the man I loved.

But it wasn't just him. A human brain has ways of protecting itself from falling into the bottomless depths of insanity; mine chose to believe whatever information would allow me to survive. So I believed the unbelievable words of Uchiha Itachi.

I quickly finished up in the bath and dressed, wiping the tears from my face. Though I didn't believe he would hurt me again, angering Itachi was surely not what I wanted to do. I pulled the clean black and mesh shirt over my head, and I realized that it matched the one worn by my captor. I didn't know what to make of it all, I really didn't. I absently slipped on my green spandex shorts as I examined myself in the mirror. I looked a bit better than the last time I had seen my reflection, now only appearing to have stood in the rain for a while too long, but I somehow seemed so completely different. I couldn't really put my finger on it, but I thought it had something to do with my eyes; they were exactly the same yet also unrecognizable to me. I shook my head to knock my reflection out of my mind; I didn't want to think about it. I ripped my fingers through my damp hair and hastily exited. I was so flustered that I nearly forgot about my company. I tried to recover, but my pathetic attempt was in vain.

His shadowy eyes briefly glanced my way. "What is the matter?"

"I don't really know," I answered honestly, mournfully. "I saw myself in the mirror, and my eyes... My eyes... My _eyes_...!" I trailed off hopelessly. I didn't know how to explain it; I couldn't even explain it to myself. There was just something _wrong _with them.

Itachi's relaxed demeanor immediately altered, and he swiftly spun on his heels to start off down the hallway.

My fear of him suddenly resurfaced.

Had my words somehow served as a catalyst for another break in his sanity?!

"Come, Sakura." His voice was suddenly so much more distant, so much icier.

I obediently stumbled after him, terrified into absolute submission. How could his moods vary so significantly, so _suddenly_? I couldn't keep up; I could never keep up. How was I supposed to know what would and _wouldn't _set him off?

We wound through a couple corridors, and Itachi eventually slowed his pace so I could keep up in my weakened state. We proceeded onward. Then, without warning, he stopped and spoke.

I froze, my eyelids frantically closed. I waited for pain--for something, for _anything_!--but nothing came. He only spoke.

"After experiencing Tsukuyomi..." His tone was stone-cold yet nearly elegiac. "After such an experience, one rarely surfaces unchanged. I needed to break your resistance once and for all; Tsukuyomi accomplished that necessity."

As abruptly as he had stopped, he started off again, and I could only stare, stupefied, at the crimson clouds on his back. He almost sounded...remorseful. But I knew that couldn't be true. Itachi was a monster. Beautiful, but _still_ a monster, a ruthless predator. Sociopaths didn't _feel _remorse--they didn't _feel _anything! But, yet again, he hadn't hurt me.... I realized he had gone a good ten paces ahead of me, and I hurried to catch up. As I did, I recalled his words. Unchanged? _Unchanged_? What the hell did that mean? His words gradually sank in. Itachi's answer certainly explained a few things. Why my eyes were unrecognizable to me, why I felt so sincerely _not _myself, why I was acting so strangely, why...Sasuke was the way he was--it all seemed plausible with such an explanation. And he had indisputably broken my resistance.

But his answer didn't explain what was troubling me the most. Yes, I feared Itachi with every cell in my body, but I didn't hate him. If there was anyone in the world I had a right to hate, it was Uchiha Itachi. Yet I _couldn't _hate him! My anger at him was nearly palpable, but odium was somehow out of reach! I was immediately overcome with fury at _myself_. Why? Why couldn't I hate the man who had tortured the boy I loved, who had tortured _me_?! The rage vanished as quickly as it had come on. In its place was a grim, eerie thought: was it possible for the Mangekyou to produce an effect similar to Stockholm-syndrome? I felt an unreal chill in the air at the hideous notion.

"Sakura," murmured that distant, soft voice, facing the direction opposite me.

I looked up to realize that, yet again, Itachi was paces and paces ahead of me; yet again, I hurried to catch up for fear of the possible backlash.

With a hand on the door before him, he said, "This shouldn't take more than a few minutes, so please wait outside." And with that, he disappeared through the doorway.

I slid down the wall and slumped forward. This was too much. I had just come out of my comatose state, I hadn't eaten or had anything to drink, my head was pounding with a headache probably caused by all of the aforementioned and the fact that my mind was spinning with all the new information it had taken in--I was _exhausted. _And despite my better judgement, I just didn't care enough to keep my weighted eyelids open.

-

"Sakura."

I leapt up so quickly at the sound of my name that my vision blacked out, and I tottered backward, seeking the wall's support, willing myself not to faint. I soon realized the wall was too far behind me: I was going to hit the floor with the full force of gravity and probably bust my head open.

I barely felt the featherlike touch of his fingers on my shoulder.

My blood quickly found its way back up to my head, more specifically my cheeks. How pathetic could I possibly be? "S-sorry..." was my lame response, directed to the floor. I immediately became wide awake and on edge, painfully aware of the slight pressure his fingertips exerted on my skin.

Once he was confident I wasn't going to topple over once more, Itachi cautiously retreated. "No, you have not yet fully recovered. Your body is still very weak." Itachi seemed to now be avoiding eye-contact as much I was, seemingly realizing how much he had just startled me. "Your only sustenance for weeks has been an IV drip." He reached inside the pocket of his cloak and withdrew an orange; he quickly stabbed a kunai into the peel and gingerly offered it to me.

Just as gingerly, I accepted it; my stomach cheered.

"That should hold you off until we reach the kitchen." And he led me down another dim, grungy hallway. "Eat it slowly; your stomach needs time to adjust to solid food."

I strode slowly behind him, resisting the urge to devour the orange, trying to remember what I had been dreaming about before Itachi woke me.... It had left me feeling strangely content, and I wanted to hold onto it. Whatever it had been, it was now locked away in the recesses of my mind.

"You needn't worry about your status here anymore."

"Okay."

"You are now accepted as my charge and solely my responsibility, so you may stop thinking of yourself as disposable."

"Okay."

Itachi slowed his moderate gait to match mine, and, oddly enough, I wasn't scared out of my mind by his doing so; he seemed to have regained control over himself.

"What are you thinking about, Sakura?" Itachi actually directed his gaze at my face.

I supposed he was getting into the pattern of re-acclimating me to his powerful, foreboding presence.

What a strange question. If he was going to be so brazen, I would as well. "Though I know you assured me otherwise, I'm trying to determine if I am under the spell of your eyes."

That was the first time I had ever seen Itachi exhibit the emotion of surprise, evanescent as it was. "And why, may I ask, are you pondering this?"

I whispered my answer: "Because it's _illogical_ for me to believe that you won't harm Sasuke." I braced myself for some sort of repercussion, but none came. It was an alien concept to think Itachi truly meant me no more harm.

"Yet you do?" he prodded.

"Yet I do." I winced, frustrated with myself and my lack of comprehension.

"Why are you grimacing?" Itachi appeared truly intrigued—yet another completely illogical action.

"I'm trying to accept the fact that both logic and rationality are no longer applicable here." I punctuated my declaration by angrily gnawing a chunk of the fruit, using the point of the kunai as a fork--proof that he clearly thought of me as utterly and completely harmless.

"Why is that?"

I briefly waffled between telling him blatantly and simply retreating, the latter of which was the _logical _thing to do, but I decided to test my previous statement. "Because I should be long dead, because I have no reason on this earth to believe a word you say, because you seem to vacillate between ruthlessly torturing me and _amicably _conversing with me, because you shouldn't give a damn about why I'm wincing or what I'm thinking, because it's illogical to believe that you're keeping me around just for my company at tea time. _That _is why abandoning all rational thinking seems to be the only _rational_ thing I can do."

"And my reaction shall prove your theory to be correct or incorrect?"

"Yes," I told him firmly, though his keen powers of observation surprised me, and waited.

Itachi nodded in what seemed to be _approval_, and a fleetingly small _smirk_ appeared on his face.

I gaped at him, stopping mid-motion with a piece of fruit mere inches from my lips. I probably looked like an idiot.

"So,"—he sounded almost amused, still faintly smirking—"what is your ruling, Sakura?"

In disbelief, I said in an inexplicable breezy tone, "I accept my hypothesis." There was an incredulous, cynical grin on my face; I couldn't help it. "To hell with rationale. It's useless here." He could decide at any moment to kill me. He could decide at any moment to kill Sasuke. His every seemingly benign gesture could just be a mockery of my verdancy. For some _unstated_ reason, he needed me alive. I was aware of the risks, yet I somehow found an absolutely unfathomable smirk on my face. "To hell with it all..."

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Alrightie. So, there was a little humor in this chapter. Deidara and Kisame… Though their words were obviously humorous, they have a distinct meaning. (And anyways, you all _know_ you've wonder just what else Dei's kekei genkai could be used for! Don't deny it! :P)

Oh, and I've decided that I'm going to stick with how Itachi turned out in the manga (**TragicHero!Itachi)**, if you hadn't noticed from this slightly more chipper chapter. As my dear beta-reader Juniper11 knows, I've been quite conflicted because it's so hard to reconcile the two Itachi's we've been presented with! And really, this shall be a much crueler turn of events, anyways. I mean, can you _imagine _how much the truth is going to fuck with Sakura's mind (once I decide it's time for her to know)?! Well, you can leave leave the imagining up to me. :P And I swear, Sakura's new 'purpose' at the Akatsuki isn't the standard 'Omg, heal my eyes, Sakura!' Pretty far from it, actually...

So, to sum up all that: USCC is still going to be very, very much a darkfic; Itachi is going to project an 'evil' exterior to cover up the good, and sometimes (like seen in this chapter), doing so won't be so hard (...); I've got some crazy twists coming up; and you're all going to want to kill me for the ending...or maybe not. :D

So thanks so much for reading and waiting patiently (most of you, anyways...:P) for me to update! Damned and Damask is next on my to-do list, I promise!

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**I hope you'll take the time to review. I adore feedback--I thrive on it, really! Complain, criticize, praise, et cetera! Reviews are such great incentives and encouragements for me to work harder on writing and updating.**

**XOXO**

**Endoh**

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PS: I've got some rambling ideas/theories that I thought I'd share with you.

'Kay, so I have a theory... So you know how both Kimimaro and Itachi were born into clans with kekkei genkai...and how they both died from mysterious illnesses? Yah, it suddenly occurred to me that the causes of both their terminal illnesses and fateful demises could have been because their clansmen intermarried. Oh, and if Oro messed around with implanting DNA (you know, Yamato, and all?) why didn't he do the same with this beloved Kimi? Just pondering... Oh, and why wouldn't he have stolen DNA from Sasuke? I mean, Oro drew blood when he vamped-out on Sasuke to give him the Cursed Seal, right? And Oro loves kekkei genkai, right? And what about that crazy jutsu with the zombie-Hokages Oro did when he was fighting the Third? Why not just include Kimi in that and just have Kimi pop in like "Oh, hay! Sup, mah lord?" every once in a while? You know what? Somewhere in here, I'm going to have to write a fic about Kimi 'cause it seems he got the short end of the stick in all of this! Okay, I'm done rambling. :D

See that button right there? The one that says 'REVIEW'? Yah, click it.... ;)


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